TOPPENISH, Wash.- As agencies team up to curb domestic violence numbers in Yakima County, a Coordinated Response team is working to find the needs of the community.
Moderated by YWCA‘s Executive Director, Cheri Kilty, representatives from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Yakima Valley Conference of Governments and others discussed how each organization can help victims of domestic violence.
“We know Yakima is the highest rate of domestic violence anywhere across the state,” said Kilty. “If we’re also having the least amount of domestic violence homicides specifically, we’re doing a lot of good things.”
With only two homicides stemming from domestic violence in 2022, the Response Team is seeing progress already. It was noted by multiple law enforcement officers, however, training is always helpful.
Sargeant Jacob Lancaster with the Yakima Police Department says there would be a benefit “if there could be some sort of training, where when we’re responding to domestic violence, they could recognize things to look for. Something that would help them recognize somebody that’s being chronically abused and is afraid to say anything.”
It was suggested not to end education with law enforcement, but to implement trainings in high schools to prepare teenagers for the dangers.
Maria Lopez, representing the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments, emphasized the importance of education as some victims may believe nothing bad is happening.
“It may not be that it’s not happening,” said Lopez. “It’s just not being reported because of the fact that they think ‘well he can do that because he’s my partner’ or ‘she can do that because she’s, my partner.’ I think a lot of it is educating the victims as well.
“If they’re DV victims, they don’t believe that they’re being sexually assaulted because either they’re married or ‘that’s my partner that I live with.”
